Untold Secrets
by TRDancer
Summary: Edward wasn't there to save Bella from the men in Port Angeles. Bella tries to hide what happened, but Edward knows something is wrong. Will the truth ever be uncovered?
1. New Divide

**Chapter One**

_**BPOV**_

The men came toward me, evil glinting in their eyes. I racked my brains for self-defence techniques but came up with next to nothing.

One grabbed my wrists and held them behind my back. I let out a shriek of pain, and the one looming in front of me slapped his dirty hand over my mouth.

"None of that now sweetheart," he attempted to croon at me. "Don't want anyone to hear ya, now do we?" The men chuckled and I whipped my head around. There was no escape. I was in a back alley in the city of Port Angeles, Washington. I had been searching for a bookstore when I had begun to be stalked by these creepers. Jessica and Angela had no idea where I was.

In short, I was screwed. These men were going to have their way with me.

"Get away from me!" I yelled, but it came out as a mumble from behind the man's hand. The men's laughter increased and they inched closer. The man with his hand on my mouth used his free hand to trace his way down my body to the top of my jeans. I flinched away.

"Mmm, nice curves, boys," the man declared, moving his hand over and undoing the button on the top of my jeans. I attempted to move away from his hand, but the man holding my wrists held me in place. I whimpered and the man's grin split his face right in half.

With that, the men had their way. There was nothing I could do. I was defenceless. Hands were on my body and I could barely stand it. I could feel my clothes being removed, but my mind became strangely far away. Every move they made against my body was _there_, but it was like _I_ wasn't.

After a long while, the men were gone and I was able to sit up. I pulled my clothes on, feeling absolutely disgusting. I curled up against the wall, fighting the tears. I was fine. Nothing had happened. I was trying to convince myself of this when Angela and Jessica rounded the corner.

"Bella! There you are!" Jessica exclaimed. I looked up at them and nodded weakly.

"We got worried when you didn't show up for dinner, so we came looking for you," Angela explained. She surveyed the area, and then turned back to me. "Are you okay?"

I got up from my position cowering against the wall shakily. "I'm fine. I just got scared and sat down to rest," I lied.

Jessica and Angela exchanged a look and gave me an once-over. I looked down at myself and cringed. My jeans were ripped up the leg at one spot and my shirt was twisted out of place still. I fixed my shirt and looked back at my friends.

"Really? What happened to your jeans?" Jessica asked. I sighed. I just wanted to pretend it hadn't happened, and Jessica was making that difficult.

"Nothing. Don't tell anyone anything about... this, please?" I begged them. They looked skeptical, but they nodded and I let the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding out.

"Thanks, guys. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm starving," I linked arms with Jessica and Angela and dragged them out onto the brightly lit sidewalk.

"Yeah, me too," Jessica agreed.

"Me three!" Angela chimed in. I laughed softly and let them lead me down the sidewalk, listening intently to their conversation. Thoughts of the attack nudged the edge of my mind, but I blocked them out, instead focusing on Jess and Angela's banter about which lead guy in the latest box office chick flick was hottest.

"Who do you think, Bella?" Jess finally thought to ask me when we reached the restaurant we had planned to meet at earlier. Not having seen the movie they were talking about I shrugged.

"Um... I agree with Angela," I said. Angela cheered.

"Yeah, Bella! We are so right and she is so _wrong_," Angela rallied. I giggled at Angela's antics as we stood at the front of the restaurant to wait to be seated. The laugh sounded wrong, even to my ears.

I was scanning the area to see if someone was coming to seat us when I saw _him._ Edward Cullen. He was sitting at a table with his sister, Alice. He looked up just as my eyes fell on him and our eyes met. I blushed crimson and looked away hastily.

"...good guy? Right Bella?" Angela was saying something and I snapped my attention back to her.

"Sorry, what?"

"I was just saying: why would you want the bad guy when you can have the good guy?" I shrugged. They were still discussing movies.

"What were you staring at, Bella?" Jessica asked. I blushed again and she scanned the room. "Oh! _Edward_," she giggled.

"I didn't stare at him," I denied. It was true; it had only been a glance.

"Whatever," Jessica scoffed.

"Hello and welcome to _La Bella Italia._ Party of three?" We nodded and the hostess seated us three tables away from where Edward and Alice were sitting.

"So, what kind of coincidence is it that Edward and his sister picked the same restaurant as us to eat at?" Jessica said from behind her menu.

"Shut up, Jess. They're right there!" I growled at her under my breath. "And it's not the much of a coincidence. It's not like there's that many restaurants in Port Angeles to choose from."

"Touchy, touchy," Jess said before burying her face back in the menu. I sighed. I wanted to go home now, but it would be rude to ignore my friends. Plus, they were distracting me.

That thought didn't make me feel any better, but the sudden appearance of Edward Cullen next to our table did.

"Hi," Edward said.

_**EPOV**_

I watched as Bella and her friends came in the door and stood to wait to be seated. I tensed up as Jessica and Angela's thoughts came to me: Jessica's apparently annoyed because Bella wasn't telling them something, and Angela's worried for her friend. I scanned Bella's appearance. She looked strangely dirty: Bella's clothes were usually very clean and proper. The jeans she was wearing were ripped. I frowned; was she going grunge, or had something happened to her?

Bella giggled at something Angela had said and my frown deepened. Bella's laugh wasn't usually so fake sounding. She seemed to zone out of the conversation and started to look around the restaurant. I quickly looked over at Alice until I felt her eyes fall on me. Then I looked up and met her eyes. The depths of them looked troubled. What had she been getting into this afternoon while I was just sitting in my house? I should have known she would get into trouble; she was like a danger magnet.

I sighed and Alice tapped my arm, forcing me to break eye contact with Bella.

"Hey. I thought you invited me to dinner so we could talk," Alice raised an eyebrow at me jokingly. She knew full well I had only wanted to spy on Bella. It had taken all my family's force to convince me that I had to stay home and hang out with them earlier. Playing chess with Alice was so pointless. Bella needed protection. I sighed yet again.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I replied.

"C'mon, Edward. Why the sigh?" Alice persisted.

"It's just Bella. She seems... not herself," I told Alice. She looked up and followed Bella and her friend's as they followed the hostess to a nearby table. They sat down and started to talk in hushed whispers. I, of course, could hear them perfectly through Angela's mind.

_"So, what kind of coincidence is it that Edward and his sister picked the same restaurant as us to eat at?" _Jessica asked. Angela scoffed in her head.

_"Shut up, Jess. They're right there!"_ Bella hissed. "_And it's not the much of a coincidence. It's not like there's that many restaurants in Port Angeles to choose from."_

_"Touchy, touchy,"_ Jessica said. I blinked furiously. Neither Angela nor Jessica was acknowledging the fact the Bella was _hurt_ somehow. I couldn't take it any longer. I had to speak to her, learn more about her condition.

I then found myself walking the short space between Bella's table and mine, Alice calling out after me in her thoughts, surprised at my actions. I waved off her attempts with a flick of my hand and stood next to the table.

"Hi," I said. Bella blinked up at me.

"Hi, Edward," Jessica said, looking up at me through her eyelashes and fluttering them. I fought the urge to roll my eyes—I would vomit if I could. All over Jessica, of course. I smirked.

"Hello. I just wanted to see how you girls were doing," I said, trying to make my voice sound as normal as I could; to not let any of my overwhelming concern shine through.

"We're doing fine," Angela said, smiling up at me. Her mind was completely pure though, she wasn't trying to hit on me at all. I _really_ like Angela.

"That's good," I said, flashing a smile back at Angela. "How about you, Bella?"

"I-I'm fine." She stuttered at the beginning of the sentence, barely enough for human ears to notice, but I sure noticed.

"Really? What have you girls been doing all day?" I asked, prying for information. Jessica opened her mouth to talk, but Bella cut her off.

"Oh, not too much," she said, looking at her menu. "Just dress shopping, hanging around. The usual Port Angeles stuff." Bella shot a glare at Jessica and Angela that obviously had hidden meaning. It wasn't so hidden from me, however.

_"She must be hiding what happened in the alleyway... I wonder why... maybe I'll mention it anyways... nah."_ Jessica's thoughts were on Bella, picturing her cowered against a brick wall in an alleyway.

Angela was picturing the same thing, but her thoughts were much nicer. _"I wonder what happened; I hope she's okay... she seems to not want to talk about it, but it would probably be good for her to do so..." _

The image of Bella poor and defenceless angered me. I gripped the edge of the table, only just keeping my strength in check as to not actually splinter the wood. I wanted to find whoever had done this to Bella and kill them in the worst way possible.

"Sounds like fun," I managed to say through the haze of my anger. "Have a good meal."

I walked away stiffly, sitting down across from Alice and staring at her, yet not seeing her. Instead I was seeing faceless men hurting Bella. I imagined myself killing them in a variety of ways.

"Edward?" Alice asked. "What happened?"

"She's hurt. And it's _their_ fault. If I ever find out who did this..." I trailed off, clenching my fists. Alice understood completely.

"We'll find out who it was. Just focus on protecting Bella right now, okay? Don't go hunting them down, you wouldn't know where to start."

"I'd find them. I'd find them and make them pay," I hissed, probably a little too loud, judging by the stares and thoughts of the people around us.

"Look, Edward, you need to get out of here. Jessica and Angela will be sure not to let Bella out of their sight again, and—"

"NO!" I whispered fiercely. "I am staying here, and I am driving Bella home."

Alice's shoulders sagged. "I can see I won't persuade you, but please, Edward, be careful." I nodded and watched her leave.

I then turned my thoughts to Angela, watching them have dinner through her eyes. When they were done, I approached the table again.

_**BPOV**_

"Bella." I looked up from my plate, which I had been running a fork over the top of to make lines in the chocolate syrup, to see Edward hovering next to the table.

"Yes?" I asked. Angela and Jessica had gone off to the bathroom, leaving me here alone.

"I was wondering if you would do me the honour of driving you home," Edward asked me. It was purely the smile he was giving me that made me say yes without even a thought about Angela or Jessica.

Jess and Angela caught up with us at the door. "Where are you going, Bella?" Jess asked, raising her eyebrows in Edward's direction. I blushed.

"Edward's going to drive me home, is that alright?" Jessica looked indignant, and was no doubt going to protest, but Angela didn't give her a chance.

"That's fine, perfectly fine. Right, Jess?" she said, elbowing Jessica in the ribs. I smirked.

"Yeah, fine," Jessica grumbled.

~*~

The car ride was silent for about ten minutes before my random gazing around spotted the odometer.

"Edward! Slow down!" I shrieked. Edward looked at me with an expression of confusion.

"I'm not going fast," he said. I widened my eyes at him.

"You're going 150! And keep your eyes on the road!" I yelled. Edward sighed and looked back at the road, pressing down on the brakes so that we were going 80mph.

"This is too slow," Edward mumbled. I snorted.

"You may live if we become a Volvo pretzel," I said, pointing at him, "but I will not." I pointed to myself. Edward winced, and then glanced at me out the corner of his eye.

"How do you know I'd live? Aren't I just as likely as you to die?" he challenged me. I shook my head.

"Edward. Both you and I know that you are not normal. You can move impossibly fast, you have incredible strength, your skin is cold all the time, you don't go out in the sun." I paused to take a deep breath. "You're something else."

Edward sighed. "What exactly am I, then?" he asked. My throat closed up. He was going to make me say it. "Say it, Bella," he said, looking more vampire like than I had ever seen him.

"Vampire," I whispered, looking at my lap. Edward nodded, a grim look on his face.

"What happened to you, anyways?" he asked me. My head shot up.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean, Angela and Jessica lost track of you tonight, and when they found you, you weren't exactly in the greatest state." I breathed in deeply. Damn, Jessica. She must have told Edward at some point. Now avoiding the... incident was even harder.

"Nothing. I just wandered off looking for a bookstore, and got lost. Jessica and Angela found me," I said nonchalantly. I held my breath. _Please believe me, please believe me, please._

"Oh. Why are your jeans torn, then?" he asked. I let out the breath. He seemed to believe me. _Thank you._

"I tripped and they got caught on something," I told him off the top of my head. Edward nodded thoughtfully.

"You're lucky," Edward said finally, after a few minutes of silence.

"Why?" I asked, though I thought I knew what he meant.

"There are a lot of... not so nice people in Port Angeles. It's a wonder you didn't run into any of them." My heart almost stopped. He hadn't been fooled, had he? He knew. He must know. I _couldn't _let him know. So I played along.

"Yeah, it's a rarity that I don't run into such things. I'm a danger magnet," I joked. Edward looked very serious, however, and my heart sunk.

"I've noticed," he said dryly. We didn't say anything more until he pulled up to the curb in front of my house. It was such an awkward drive; I wondered why I had even accepted. But one look at Edward's face and I knew why. _Dazzling..._

"Well, bye," I said, opening the door. "See you at school tomorrow?" Edward nodded and I got out, shutting the door behind me. The window rolled down, and I heard Edward's quiet and melodic voice drift out.

"Goodbye, Bella." He sounded so sad it almost made my heart break.

"Bye, Edward," I said softly as he drove away. Any normal human wouldn't have been able to hear me, but I knew he could.

* * *

**AN: Whoo, I'm done, thank god. You know how long I've been working on this? Since March 23rd. And it's not even long. *sigh***

**It probably sucks. Feel free to tell me so in your review. Thanks for reading this far! BTW, everything that happened in Twilight up to this point has happened. The only difference is that the Cullens convinced Edward to stay home and play chess.**

**Thanks to R.M.J. Lennixx for beta'ing!! I love you fereva! :D**

**There's a review incentive for this chapter, too: a look at an alternate first chapter. That's if you a) review and b) gimme your email so I can send it. :D Warning though: this version is much, much better. Don't judge me by my alternates. :P**


	2. Going Under

**Chapter Two**

_They say you can't be dreaming if you can feel pain._

_That's bullshit._

_Because I'm in the worst possible pain right now. It's ripping through me, and I can't stop it. _

_I am powerless._

~*~

I shot up in bed, the sheets tangled around me. I glanced at the alarm clock and groaned, flopping back onto the bed. It was 5 AM, only an hour and a half away from the time I last tried to go back to sleep. I had woken up from terrible nightmares every two hours or so—the time was gradually becoming shorter.

The nightmares were about the men. They were replays of what had happened; only in these nightmares, I could feel it. It was different every time, but it caused the same thing: me waking up.

Needless to say, I was tired, and it was pointless to try and sleep again.

I sighed and untangled myself from the sheets, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I stumbled sleepily across the hallway and into the bathroom, turning on the shower water as hot as it would go and stepping under it with a sigh of relief. It was easily my fifteenth shower since Edward had dropped me off last night; I had been taking one every time I woke up from a nightmare—which was frequent. I had almost had enough of the nightmares; almost enough to forego sleep completely.

But no, I would persevere until I could no longer stand another second of it. I would not let those sorry excuses for men bring me down.

I stayed in the shower for as long as I thought was feasibly possible while still leaving hot water for Charlie. When I went downstairs, however, I saw that he had already left for work. '_Dang, I could have stayed in there longer?'_

Shrugging to myself, I went over to the cupboard and poured myself some cereal, sitting down at the table to eat it.

During the night, many questions about Edward that I hadn't thought to ask him before had formulated, and were now laid out in my mind like a grocery list, in the order I thought it smart to ask them in.

I chewed my cereal as slowly as possible, even going so far as to pour myself more—which I didn't need at all—until it was finally a decent hour to leave the house. In fact, I had taken so much time I was almost going to be late.

I quickly rinsed out my bowl and left it in the sink, grabbing my already packed up backpack and running out the door, heading straight for my truck, only to be stopped dead in my tracks.

Edward Cullen's Volvo was parked in my driveway where Charlie's cruiser usually parked. Smoothly, Edward got out and leaned against the silver framework casually.

"Want to ride with me today?" he asked. I nodded and headed to the other side of the car. Edward was there faster than humanly possible, opening the door for me. I smiled at him tentatively as I slid into the car. No sooner was I sitting comfortably in the passenger seat than Edward was sitting behind the wheel, reversing out of the driveway.

"That's sort of disconcerting, you know," I commented.

Edward only smiled his crooked smile as he said, "Well, I am a vampire." I nodded.

"About that... I have a lot of questions."

"Shoot," he told me. So I began to ask question after question, learning many things about him: why he didn't go out in sun (he would show me later), how he had been changed (he had been dying of the Spanish flu and Carlisle saved him), how old he was (a century or so), why he drank animal blood (he didn't want to be a monster), etcetera.

He had just put the Volvo in park in the student parking lot when I fell silent. He turned to me, and I could tell he was surprised.

"Haven't you forgotten something?" he asked. I thought about it; I was positive every question on my list had been checked off, so I shook my head.

"No, why?"

Edward chuckled. "You mean you don't care what I eat?" I took a sharp breath.

"Well, it can't be that bad," I reasoned. "I mean, you're going to school. With humans." Edward shook his head and got out of the car, mumbling something about "not typical... might need to be institutionalized..." I giggled and went to let myself out. Of course, Edward didn't give me the chance; he was there in no time.

"You're going to be seen racing around like that," I told him, getting out of the car and tripping on a rock, almost falling onto the pavement. Thankfully, Edward caught me as the car door slammed shut behind me.

"Whoa, careful there, Bella," he told me, placing me upright on my feet. Somehow, that gesture made me feel a bit off.

"Okay, Edward. Thanks for the ride, see you later," I said, all in a rush. I felt a need to be away from him, though I had no idea why. I turned and walked—practically ran—to English class.

I reached the building in the nick of time, sliding into my seat just as the final bell rang.

As the teacher began the lesson, my thoughts drifted back to Edward. He must have felt hurt, or at least confused as to why I had run off so fast. Truthfully, I felt the same way. I had vowed to myself that the good for nothing "men" that had hurt me weren't going to change my life, but it seemed as though the promise was in vain.

I refused to let myself think that, wrenching myself back to the future and concentrating as hard as possible on the novel study I had already learned in Phoenix.

_**EPOV**_

Why had she run off like that? What did I do wrong?

I ran through the questions over and over in my brain, as if expecting an answer to suddenly appear. One didn't, of course.

She had slept poorly last night, so poorly that I hadn't been able to risk staying in her room. Instead, I perched outside the window on a tree branch, listening to her breathing slow down and then pick up. She moaned out pleas to _"Stop"_ and _"Get away from me"_, and I felt an intense need to run in there and cradle her in my arms while whispering that everything would be okay. I didn't though, as she soon woke up after the talking started. Every time she woke up—about every two hours—she would go take another shower. I noticed the length of the shower always related to the length of the nightmare she had.

All these things made a pretty interesting puzzle in my mind, one that was slowly becoming clear.

Passing Jessica in the hallway on my way to Government I heard her thoughts and grimaced. She was planning on attacking Bella with questions in Trigonometry, not about the things she really should be asking about—though I did see a glimmer of that thought in the corner of her mind—but about why Bella had gone home with me.

I wondered if I would be able to see Bella before third period in order to warn her. I thought there was maybe a small chance if I got out of this class early and waited for her outside of Spanish.

I conned the teacher into letting me leave five minutes early—there was really no reason for him to protest, after all, all my work was done—and got to Bella's classroom just in time for the bell to ring.

Students filed out of the room, most of them shooting glances at me and wondering who I was waiting for. None of them even thought about Bella, which made me smirk.

Finally, just when I was getting a bit worried, Bella came out of the room, nearly stubbing her toe on the metal divider on the floor, but managing to lift her foot high enough just in time. Then she almost slammed into me in her haste to get to her next class. I steadied her carefully with a smile.

"E-Edward!" she stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Just warning you that Jessica's going to be on your case in Trig," I informed her. Her face fell farther than it had already been, something I had thought impossible just a moment ago.

"How do you know?" She eyed me suspiciously. I sighed.

"I heard her thoughts," I whispered. Bella raised an eyebrow.

"Oh-kay..." she sputtered. Do all vampires do that?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. I shook my head quickly. Even though I couldn't actually hear her thoughts, I knew Bella well enough already to know that she was worrying about others in my family hearing what she thought. Hell, she was probably freaking out about the fact _I _could hear her thoughts.

"Don't worry, I can't hear yours. You're like some sort of shield... anyways, we'll talk about that later. I just wanted to warn you about Jessica, so that you could prepare somewhat," I told her. She cringed.

"What am I supposed to say to her? What does she want to know?" she asked frantically, starting towards Trigonometry. My next class was in the opposite direction, but I followed her anyways.

"Well..." I trailed off as we neared her classroom. Jessica was in there alright, making the finishing touches on her questions to ask Bella. "She wants to know if we're dating... and how you feel about me... and some other petty things," I told Bella cheerfully. Bella grimaced.

"What am I supposed to tell her?" she all but whined, looking up at me pleadingly. I barely held in my chuckle.

"I guess you could tell her that we are dating," I said slowly, waiting for her reaction. She took a deep breath, but didn't look displeased by the proposal. She nodded and my heart did a little victory dance; which weirded me out slightly.

"What about the other question?" Bella asked. I shrugged and grinned at her.

"I'll be waiting for the answer to that myself," I told her. She pouted slightly at me, but then smiled and opened the door to the classroom, slipping in and closing it behind her just as the bell rang.

I turned on my heel and sprinted down the hallway to my classroom, managing to get there before the teacher began the lecture. She gave me a stern look, but didn't take it any further than that, she knew I could speak Spanish better than her any day, and so didn't question me. Emmett gave me a look as I sat down, but I ignored him and settled in to listen to Bella and Jessica's whispered conversation, channelled for my benefit through Jessica's annoying thoughts.

_"So, why were you with Edward last night? Did you guys plan to drive back together?"_ Jessica asked as soon as the teacher's attention was on other things.

_"Oh, no, it was just a coincident," _Bella told Jessica, looking surprised that anyone could possibly think that. I smiled to myself; she obviously didn't know Jessica too well yet.

_"Oh." _Jessica was disappointed with this answer, but she ploughed on anyways. _"Are you guys secretly dating? " _Something in the look on Bella's face told her the answer, though I couldn't see it. _"How long have you been seeing him?" _she crowed as loudly and excitedly as she possibly could without disturbing the class. Even so, a couple of nearby students turned to look at her and Bella.

_"Not long,"_ Bella said, blushing. Jessica smiled. _Look at her blushing; she must have done something with him!_ I winced at the thought of Bella and I in the sort of positions Jessica was imagining. She was far too fragile for _that_.

_"Are you going on another date?" _Jessica asked, choosing not to go where her thoughts were leading her. Bella thought about the question for a moment before a look of realization came over her face. Jessica didn't interpret it as that—she thought it just looked happy—but I could tell.

_"He's driving me to Seattle this weekend. Does that count?" _Bella wondered out loud. Jessica nodded at Bella enthusiastically. Jessica's thoughts lingered on many more questions, ones that couldn't be answered by Bella, before coming back to her final and most important question—at least to me it was the most important. Jessica just regarded it as something she _needed _to know.

_"What do you think about Edward? I mean, how much _do you_ like him?"_ she asked eagerly. I sat up straighter in my desk chair, anticipating Bella's response.

She seemed to be thinking about it intently. She thought for so long that Jessica got very impatient. I, of course, didn't care how long it took, as long as I got an answer. Finally, Bella opened her mouth to say something.

_"I don't know, Jess." _Jessica protested internally at this. She was not happy, to say the least. _"I mean, I know I like him a lot, probably more than he likes me... but there's just a weird feeling I get around him."_ I frowned. She felt weird around me? Why? And more important, how could I fix the problem?

Jessica felt a little smug at this revelation. So smug that she went back to envisioning the same thing she had been envisioning Bella and I doing, only now Bella was replaced with her. I tuned out, not wanting to see that at all. If she only knew what would happen if her fantasies came true... most likely her bones snapping, at best. Sadly, that was what would happen to Bella too—but her situation was much, much worse. Yet _she_ was the one I wanted. What kind of tricks must the world play on me?

I sighed and settled back into my seat. Upon thinking over exactly what Bella had said again, my attention snagged on one particular phrase I had overlooked before, too centered on what she had said after it. "..._probably more than he like me..."_ I frowned. Bella had no idea what kind of love—yes, love, I admitted it—I had for her already. It was the kind of thing only a vampire could do—fall in unconditional, irrevocable love. Usually they stuck to doing such a thing with other vampires, but I supposed I was 'special'. I groaned internally; being the special one wasn't the greatest thing to be all the time. For a moment I longed to be normal, like Alice and Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme.

But no. For if I was normal, Bella would not matter. She would be just another girl, and Bella wasn't worth that, whether I was in love with her or not. She deserved to be loved the way a vampire loves.

That was why no matter what, I would find out who had hurt my Bella and make them pay.

* * *

**AN by TRDancer:**** Wows. That was fast. Thank Leon, he told me to work on this instead of other things...**

**Also thank Lex, just for being really cool and beta'ing this supa quick.**

**WHEE! Review!**

**BN by Lennixx (the beta extraordinaire [yes, TRD added the bracket shizz]): **

**Wow, this got out fast! Now I feel bad about my abhorrent lack of updating… TRD puts me to shame…**

**But she's amazing! Amiright? Imright. And you know what you all should do to show how you totals love this story (because you know you do, don't even put off that façade that I all know you are) you should review! DO EET, I **_**BEG **_**of you. Okay, I won't actually beg, but it would be nice of you! this chappie was amazing, no? **


	3. Don't Waste Your Time

**Chapter Three**

_**BPOV**_

Fourth period dragged on for a very long time. I spent the entire time in a foggy haze, trying not to think of anything. Every once in awhile my thoughts would drift to Edward and why I felt so weird around him now, whereas he had been a comfort before. I knew it had something to do with... them, and that infuriated me. How dare those men keep me from living normally, living with Edward? They had no right.

The bell rang, shocking me out of my fury. I hurriedly gathered up my books, shoving them into my bag and heading out the classroom door, towards the cafeteria. Halfway there, I felt someone grab my elbow and tug me into the bathroom. I nearly shrieked in surprise and fright, but I recognized Jessica before I could take the breath necessary to do so.

"What?" I hissed at Angela and Jess, who were appraising me with cautious eyes.

"Bella," Angela started in a gentle voice. My heart sank. This could not be good. "We're worried about you."

"Seriously, Bella, you can't expect us to just believe that nothing happened," Jessica interjected. I shifted my bag uncomfortably. I didn't expect them to believe it, but I expected them to at least pretend they did so I could just forget the whole thing.

However, I remained adamant. "Frankly, I do expect you to believe that, because it's the truth."

Jessica snorted and Angela frowned. "Bella, look at the circles under your eyes. That's a clear sign you were having nightmares last night, and nightmares are a sign of trauma. Something _happened_ and I want to know what," Angela demanded. I cringed.

"What are you, a psychologist? I'm fine," I insisted, though I knew it was fruitless. They no more believed me than they would believe that pigs were flying on the moon. They stared at me, obviously waiting for me to crack. If they persisted in doing that, they were going to be waiting a long time. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair to get it out of my eyes. "Look," I began, "I don't want to talk about it, and I'd like it if you wouldn't be so persistent. I just want to forget about it, okay?" My voice rose in irritation as my sentence went on. Angela and Jessica looked miffed. I took their silence as agreement and turned on my heel, stalking out of the bathroom.

_**EPOV**_

"Look, Edward, that would do more harm than good, I'm telling you," Alice insisted. I sighed.

"But if I tell her I know, maybe she'll open up and start to recover," I argued.

"Or maybe you would cause her more harm. What if she takes it as an insult that we knew and were discussing it?" Emmett added. I frowned.

"Plus, what if your prediction is wrong?" Jasper interjected. "You could completely offend her." I took that into consideration, though I was 99% sure that I was correct in my assumptions. Everything she did pointed to it: the mumblings in her dreams last night, her ripped jeans the other night, her reaction to me catching her... the last one made me shudder.

"Seriously, Edward," Alice said determinedly, "probing her is not going to help. I've seen it."

I buried my head in my hands, defeated. I scanned the crowd of teenager's minds, looking for Bella. I saw her nowhere, but when I reached Angela's mind I was met with a surprise. Sometime while I had been discussing Bella with my family, Angela and Jessica had actually been talking _to_ Bella. It seemed that it hadn't turned out well, however. I saw Bella storm off in a huff in Angela's mind, and I hoped she would think over the scene again. She did, and I praised God, or whatever good thing caused my wish to come true.

I watched through Angela's eyes as Bella actually admitted something had happened. That, at least, was progress. I could understand Bella's logic—she wanted to forget. But I knew—and Angela did too, I noted—that if she did that, the after effects of the incident would be intensified. I frowned into my hands.

I wasn't going to give up on Bella, though I wouldn't outright tell her I knew—or thought I knew. I would gently pry it out of her, little by little. If I had enough restraint to stop myself from killing her the first time I met her, I had enough restraint to do this. I had to, for Bella.

The bell rang and I got up from my seat slowly, not anticipating this next class. Alice laid a hand on my arm.

"Don't forget, blood typing in Biology," she reminded me quietly. I nodded and headed in the direction of my car.

_**BPOV**_

I sat down on my stool, laying my head on the desk and trying unsuccessfully to tune out Mr. Banner. I winced as I heard what we were doing.

"I need everyone to prick their finger with this needle, just like this..." Mr. Banner trailed off, demonstrating on Mike. I cringed when the needle entered Mike's skin. In almost the same instant, the rusty smell of blood wafted over to me on a breeze. The window was open. _Oh no._ I squeezed my eyes shut tight and focused on not vomiting.

Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder. "Bella? Are you alright?" I cracked my eyes open a little to see a large male hand on my shoulder. Mike. All of a sudden, memories came flooding back. I moved away from Mike's touch quickly, jerking right off the stool with a loud cry.

"No!" I curled up next to the wall, shuddering, unable to stop the tears running down my face.

"Bella?" I heard Mike ask in a confused tone. I heard light footsteps running over and a thud.

"Mike, don't be stupid. You've already done enough." I heard Angela's voice distantly and felt her kneel down next to me.

"Bella?" she whispered. "Bella, I'm going to take you to the nurse, okay?" I attempted to nod, and thought I succeeded. Angela's thin arm snaked around my body, underneath my shoulders, lifting me up. Angela was surprisingly strong for all she was skin and bones. I stumbled along beside her.

I didn't know how long we'd been walking, but I heard a door swoosh open and a kind lady's voice. "Oh no, what happened?" I cracked my eyes open a little to see the nurse rush over and help to support me.

"She... fainted in Biology. We're blood typing," Angela replied slowly. I felt momentarily grateful for her half truths, and then I succumbed to the darkness that was waiting for me.

I didn't know how much later it was when a loud velvety voice woke me. "Is she alright?" I heard Edward ask. He was alarmed. I opened my eyes to see him hovering over me. I let out an involuntary shriek and snapped my eyes closed again. The way he was positioned reminded me too much of the man in the alleyway. I tried to remind myself that it was just Edward, but my body remained tense. I didn't open my eyes again until I was sure I'd heard Edward move away from the bed.

I sat up slowly, looking around me. I was obviously lying on the cot in the nurse's office. "How long has it been?" I croaked out. My throat was dry, and thankfully the nurse hurried over with a glass of water. I downed it gratefully.

"It's fifteen minutes until the final bell," I heard Edward say from across the room. I nodded thoughtfully, still looking around the room.

"Where's Angela?" I asked, my voice much clearer.

"She went back to class, but Edward here insisted he stay with you," the nurse said kindly. "Do you feel well enough to go to class? What do you have?"

I buried my head in my hands. "Gym," I moaned.

"I don't think she's able to go to gym," I heard Edward say. "I'll drive her home."

"Alright," the nurse said kindly. "I'll sign passes for you both." There was a rustle of paper and the sound of a pen scratching. I looked up from my hands. Edward was standing next to me, looking awkward.

"Can you walk?" he asked. I stood up warily, one hand out to catch myself on the cot if need be. I took a cautious step and didn't waver.

"Yes," I sighed out in relief.

I headed towards the door and Edward hurried out in front of me to open it for me. I smiled at him, though I was perfectly capable of opening the door myself.

Once we were out in parking lot I walked towards Edward's Volvo begrudgingly. I wanted to be alone, but I had no choice but to ride with him—unless I wanted to walk in the pouring rain.

Edward came and opened the door for me. This time I didn't look at him as I got in. I didn't want to be babied. It wasn't a big deal that I fainted when I smelt blood. I wished he wouldn't freak out like he was obviously doing.

When Edward pulled the car out of the parking lot and hit the road I was still staring intently down at the floor of the Volvo. I didn't look up when he spoke.

"Bella, are you alright?" I nodded.

"Yes," I said curtly.

"Okay, good," he breathed a sigh of relief. "Bella... what's been going on these past few days?"

Now I did look up at him. "What are you talking about?" _Not him too._ I was sick and tired of the interrogations already, and this was only the second. In my opinion, _one_ was too many.

"You know what I'm talking about," Edward said gently. He was staring out the windshield with a determined look on his face.

"I'm afraid I don't," I insisted, leaning back in the leather seat and staring up at the ceiling. I felt exhausted.

"Bella, don't play games with me. I want you to talk about what happened!" Edward slammed his hand against the steering wheel. I snapped my head up and stared at him in disbelief.

"Why are you acting like this, Edward? What is your problem?" I asked, irritated.

"My _problem _is that you won't admit something happened!" Edward's voice was almost screaming at me. "You are never going to heal if you keep acting like this!"

"Excuse me, but you're the one who's yelling. You don't know anything, Edward. Don't pretend you do," I snapped.

"I think I do, Bella. I'm not pretending. Look at you—you're a wreck. You've experienced trauma and it isn't good for you to hold it in." His voice was calmer now.

"What is it with everyone conducting psychoanalysis on me today? I. Am. _Fine._"

Edward slammed down on the brakes and I was thrown forward. My head smacked the dashboard with a loud crack. "Bella, I'm so sorry!" Edward exclaimed, reaching for me. I smacked his hand, ignoring the shooting pain it sent through my own hand.

"Don't touch me," I hissed, getting out of the Volvo and slamming the door behind me. I stalked towards the house, ignoring Edward, who was calling my name after me.

Once inside the house I ran up to my room and closed the door hard behind me, sliding down it and wrapping my arms around my legs.

I didn't understand why life had suddenly become so hard. It seemed as though I should be able to just ignore the problem and it would go away. It would work, too, I was sure it would... if other people would just _shut up._

I felt horribly guilty for my reaction to Mike in Biology. He had just been trying to help, and I'd freaked out on him. Hopefully he'd have the sense to stay away from me now. I wished that everyone would have the common sense to do so... especially Edward. I felt even guiltier about what I'd done to him today; running away from him after he'd saved me from a meeting with the ground. And in the car... he'd just been trying to help me. It wasn't the sort of help I wanted—or really even needed—but it was his attempt, nonetheless. I shouldn't have gotten so mad at him for it.

Why couldn't they just leave me alone? It would be healthier for everyone. I was tired of hurting the people I liked—and loved. Who was going to be next, Angela? Charlie?

I didn't want to do it anymore.

* * *

**A/N-TRD: **Uh, there it is. Hope you liked.

Lex's BN reminds me of something... that something being the emo song. "My life is a black abyss, spiralling downwards..." HEE.

Review for me, please? Thanks.

**B/N-Lennixx: **Poor Bella. She's spiralling deep, deep into that unhealthy pit of despair...

But Edward will be there to rescue her, right? Right.


	4. Haunted

**Chapter Four**

_**EPOV**_

"Edward, I can't believe you did that! Why couldn't you just listen to us?" Alice shrieked at me.

"Yeah, dude. Not helping. I mean, look what happened. She's locked up in her house, pissed at you," Emmett added.

"How would you know what happened, Emmett?" I asked through my teeth. He shrugged and turned back to the TV.

_'Chill out, man.'_

I shook my head in anger and turned back to Alice. She was having a vision... Bella wouldn't be at school tomorrow. Frustratingly, the vision didn't reveal why.

"I'll keep watching, Edward. But honestly, she's probably not coming because of what you and Angela and Jessica said," Alice said matter-of-factly. I groaned and headed out the door, going to watch Bella sleep—or not, sleep, as the circumstances would have it.

_**BPOV**_

I started awake for the innumerable time that night. I shuddered, remembering the nightmare—it had been worse than most. I checked the clock; it was six am.

'_Better than yesterday.'_

I threw the blankets off of me and headed for the bathroom. I leaned against the counter in front of the mirror and assessed my appearance.

I looked horrible, and truthfully, I felt horrible as well. I hadn't showered after every nightmare this time, though I'd had to fight the urge. There were prominent dark circles under my eyes and my hair was tangled and hung lopsided on either side of my head. I grimaced and lay my head against the mirror.

Suddenly, everything I was going to have to face at school hit me. I groaned. I did not feel up to the constant scrutinizing from everyone today—Angela, Jessica... and God forbid, _Edward. _I groaned again and sat down on the floor. No sooner than I'd hit the floor, there was knock on the door.

"Bella? Are you planning on letting me shower today?" Charlie called.

I clutched the edge of the counter in an attempt to pull myself back to my feet, but it didn't work.

"Bella?" Charlie's voice sounded worried now, and the doorknob turned. I went limp again.

The door swung open to reveal Charlie wearing his pyjamas and looking confused. He scanned the room before dropping his eyes down to me.

"Bella? You look horrible," he said, his eyes turning worried.

"I feel horrible," I mumbled. He knelt down to look at me closer.

"Do you want to stay home from school?" he asked.

I grasped at the thread of hope and nodded.

"Okay, I'll phone the school. Do you need help back to your room?" I nodded in response and grabbed onto his shoulders. He lifted me to my feet and supported me as we walked back to my room. I felt exhausted. I wasn't exactly sick like Charlie thought I was, but I was sick in my own way. It lifted such a burden off of me to be able to avoid Edward and his questions today... wait, Edward. He was going to be coming to pick me up for school.

Charlie deposited me and my bed and appraised me anxiously. "Do you need anything else?"

"Can you tell Edward I'm sick when he gets here, please?"

Charlie nodded. "Sure thing, honey. Feel better." He turned to go and I lay back down. Maybe I could catch up on some sleep...

~*~

I awoke sometime later by a nightmare, only to hear the ringing of the phone downstairs. I stumbled out of bed and answered it, still half-asleep.

"Bella? Why aren't you at school today? Is everything alright?" Angela's frantic voice greeted me.

"I'm home sick." I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock—it was around lunch time at school. "I'll probably be out for a week or so." I figured a couple more days of attempting to sleep and time away from everyone would help. That way, things could blow over, and I could go back to being as normal as possible.

"Oh, Bella. Do you want me to bring you your homework?" Angela asked sympathetically.

I nodded into the phone before remembering she couldn't see me. "That would be nice. Thanks, Ang."

"No problem. Feel better soon."

"I'll try," I replied, and then hung up the phone.

A week was long enough for the dreams to stop, wasn't it? A week would be long enough for Edward to realize that I needed space, and for Angela and Jess to forget the details, wouldn't it?

I hoped so.

_**EPOV**_

She was sick, or so I had been told by Charlie when I brought the Volvo to pick her up for school. I wasn't so sure.

I had to admit I was happy that Angela hadn't been able to stand not knowing where Bella was anymore—she was imagining all the horrible things that could have happened in the time since she'd seen Bella last, and they were pretty gruesome.

Bella told Angela she was sick as well. I was surprised that Angela had let it slide; her mind was screaming the fact that she didn't believe Bella. I didn't either, of course. She may be tired from lack of sleep, but staying home wasn't going to solve that problem. No, Bella was avoiding school. She was avoiding Jessica and Angela, and most of all, she was avoiding me.

And it was my fault. I wanted to go directly to her home and try to talk to her, apologize. I was on the edge of my plastic lunch table chair. A couple more seconds and I'd be out the school doors, if it wasn't for...

"_No, _Edward. Don't. You know what happened the last time you tried to talk to her, against the advice of this family, might I add. Going to see her is _not _a good idea. Stop," Alice ordered.

"But Alice, she said she'd be out for a week! That's too long to go without seeing her. And watching her sleep doesn't count," I added, shooting a glare in Rosalie's direction.

"Edward, listen to me. This. Is. Not. A. Good. Idea. And you know it. So don't delude yourself into thinking it is, because none of us are going to let you out of our sight until it _is _a good idea. Which will be never," Alice said smugly. I sighed and buried my face into my hands.

"Isn't this what you wanted, Edward? For her to stay away from you, where she'd be safe?" Rosalie sneered.

I raised my head to glare at her again. "Yes, that is what I wanted, but not under these conditions. Now she's hurting herself by staying away—not physically, but emotionally. So just shut up and get your nose out of other people's business," I snapped.

"Well, excuse me, Edward, but it is my business if a family member is acting like an idiot. I just wanted you to see the good in this, that's all," Rosalie retaliated.

"There is no good in this, Rose. None," I insisted.

_**BPOV**_

The rest of the week had passed much the same as Tuesday had—in a fit of sleep, nightmares, showers, and more sleep followed by nightmares... it was an endless cycle interrupted every day at the same time, when Angela would bring me my homework. I would then complete all the homework and go back to sleep, followed by nightmares, followed by showers. I was adamant in that I could chase away the nightmares, despite the fact that the number of them seemed to be increasing. I was often tempted to just not sleep, but I always reminded myself that if I did I would be giving in to _them_; letting them have an impact on my life.

I was glad that neither Edward nor any of his siblings had shown up to ask me what was happening. I didn't want to see anyone. The short exchanges with Angela were bad enough.

I had a feeling that today wasn't going to work out quite the same. Edward wasn't very patient, and it was surprising to me that he'd managed to wait three full days already. I knew it was inevitable that he show up—what wasn't inevitable was me talking to him. I was not planning on answering the door when he showed up.

Sure enough, at ten AM Edward knocked on my door. I lay still on the couch, not moving a muscle. I hoped he'd leave if I didn't acknowledge him. But the knocking persisted. I shoved a pillow on top of my head, covering my ears. When it finally stopped about three minutes later I didn't move from that position. I listened carefully for movement. I didn't hear anything, not that it meant much. Edward was a vampire, after all.

I lay there for a long while, just waiting. Was it possible that he'd really left? I hoped feverishly for it to be true.

Soon enough, my muscles started to cramp up and I knew I needed to get up and move. I moved the pillow slowly off of my head, stretching out my arm muscles as I went. I sat up slowly and swung my legs off of the couch, staring at my toes and wiggling them. I looked up, directly at the recliner chair across the room.

Edward stared back at me. "Hi, Bella."

* * *

**AN: Thanks to JennCD for the idea for this chapter, it was much, much better than mine. (I may have had no ideas at all... maybe...)**

**Thanks to Lex for being awesome. :D (Because she is. Don't listen to the BN. And coincidentally, she did tell me cliffies were awesome.)**

**And thanks to all of you for reviewing!! **

**What do you mean you haven't reviewed yet? Get on that!! Now, yah sillehs!! xD**

* * *

**BN: OOO, cliffie! I may have told TRD cliffies were awesome… possibly… **

**But nah TRD, I'm not awesome. You're the one who writes this awesomeness, I'm just the one who reads it :D Of course, I am also the one who makes corrections and what not, no matter how few there are. In fact, I really don't have much of a job as a beta, because TRD is so amazing, and makes very few mistakes in her writing. So in truth, I am not awesome, I'm the anti-awesome. I'm practically useless :D Yep, totals useless. **

**But, this was amazing, no? Yes. Totals yes. So instead of reading my retarded at totally unimportant BN, you should click that sexy little button down there and review. **

**It loves to be clicked! **

**PS: JennCD rocks. Just because. :D **


	5. Let It Go

**Chapter Five**

**BPOV**

"Edward? How the hell did you get in here?" I shrieked, jumping to my feet. Edward stood as well, his face remaining stony.

"I used the key," he said.

"Well, leave! I don't want you to be here and you damn well know that," I yelled.

"I wanted some answers," he continued calmly, some pity showing in his eyes now. I cringed. Out of all the emotions he could have chosen to show, that was the very worst one. I didn't want his pity—or anyone else's, for that matter. "So I came to get some. Why haven't you been at school? I'm worried about you." He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes, no doubt attempting to dazzle me. Well it was not going to work this time.

"Charlie told you, I'm sick," I insisted, wrenching away from him. "And in every other way, I'm fine. I just need to rest up and get over this virus, and I should be back at school by Monday. Okay, Edward?"

Edward's eyes searched my face, and evidently he saw something there he didn't like, because he snapped. "Bella, just stop pretending! I saw what happened in Jessica and Angela's minds. They know, I know, you know, and it's time you faced the facts. You can't hide forever, Bella!" His hands flew through the air as he emphasized his points and with each arc of his hands my anger towards him grew. How dare he go into the minds of others and poke and prod for information about me? It was just as bad as going through my own mind, if not worse. "My siblings disagree with me, they think you need to work this out alone, but you've had long enough, Bella. You aren't working things out, you're avoiding them, and that can't happen..."

Edward continued to rant, but he'd lost me when he'd mentioned that he had been talking to his siblings about me. I took a shaky step backwards and lifted a shaking arm to point towards the front door. Edward stopped midsentence and furrowed his eyebrows, watching my arm.

"Edward, you will leave right now. And I don't want you to come back," I said slowly and clearly. He didn't move for a second, just staring at me, but when I dropped my arm and started to come towards him he must have decided I was serious and walked towards the door. I walked ahead of him and opened it for him, watching quietly as he walked out.

He stopped when his feet were fully on the porch and turned around. "Bella..."

"Goodbye, Edward," I interrupted curtly, and slammed the door in his face.

I stared at the door for a moment more before the tears began to run down my face.

**EPOV**

I analyzed the grain of wood on the door that Bella had just slammed in my face—or rather, on it, as it had hit my nose, and there was a tiny dent that only very keen eyes would be able to see. I was now standing numbly and staring straight at it. I could not think of any feasible way to fix it, and I didn't even know why I wanted to.

I knew I should have listened to Alice and the others, but I was not a patient person when it came to Bella and her mental state. I had only wanted to check up on her, and Jasper had finally allowed me to come when we were out hunting, since it was sunny today and my emotions were stressing him out.

"I just want some emotional peace. Twenty minutes tops, alright, Edward?" he'd amended. I looked at my watch. I'd been here for fifteen.

I took one last look at the dent on the door and then turned and walked away from Bella's house. I met Jasper in the forest.

"Not good?" he guessed, reading my emotions which were, I noted from his thoughts, _'hopeless and resigned.'_

"She slammed the door in my face," I mumbled as we began to head back to the house.

Jasper chuckled. "What did you do to her?"

"I, uh... mentioned something about my siblings disagreeing with me..." I brought the memory back into focus. Yes, that was definitely when she'd gotten angry. "I don't think she liked that I discussed her with you guys."

"Well, didn't Emmett say she might?" Jasper reasoned.

"He might have..." I said quietly. He definitely had, but I didn't need Emmett ragging on me right now.

"He did. You just wait until he finds out. Oh man," Jasper laughed.

"He's not going to find out." I shot Jasper a death glare.

"So what are you planning to do about Bella?" Jasper asked.

I sighed. "Well, it's obvious she doesn't want me in her life anymore and I was thinking, maybe Rosalie's right... maybe I should just let her be safe far away from me. I don't know what's really safer for her mental state, and this is what she wants, so I might as well let her have it."

Jasper clapped me on the back. "Good choice, man."

"Glad you think so," I told him sincerely, "because I don't."

He snorted. "Well it is, and everyone else will agree as well."

**BPOV**

I didn't want to see him ever again, not because I didn't like him—I did, probably more that I should, this was a vampire that wanted to suck my blood here—but because of the way he'd been acting and the fact that every time I saw his face it was a reminder. Everything about the area around Forks was a reminder. Angela was, Jessica was, the Volvo was... just everything.

I needed to leave.

So for the first time that week I made supper.

It was nothing fancy, just simple spaghetti that Charlie could probably make—alright, scratch that. Charlie could _not_ make spaghetti.

When it was done I dumped it onto two plates and distributed sauce between them, sprinkling cheese on top as well. Charlie arrived just as I finished, right at six on the dot.

"Bella! You're feeling better?" he asked. I nodded in answer and set his plate on the table along with a fork. I sat down with him and watched as he ate the food, taking a bite of mine every once in awhile. When he was about half done I set down my fork, making a clanking sound. He looked up at me.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Bells?"

"Can I move back to Phoenix?" I asked, fidgeting with the tablecloth. I felt bad for leaving him, but I just couldn't be here anymore.

"But why? I thought you were liking it here." Charlie's face looked absolutely devastated. I continued to fidget with the tablecloth.

"I was, but then the novelty wore off, I suppose. I don't have as many friends and everyone pretty much ignores me. It's nothing to do with you, Dad, I swear. I want to live with you, but I miss my old friends," I lied. I had no old friends, but he didn't need to know that.

His face softened. "You do know that your mother and Phil are travelling?" he said, taking another bite of spaghetti.

I nodded. "It's okay. I can stay in the house by myself until they're done the tour, and when they move wherever Phil needs to move to, I'll go with them," I reasoned. "It's not much longer until they're done."

"You'll have to ask your mother. It's fine with me, if you really need to go. But... I'll miss you, Bells." The dejected look was back.

"I'll miss you, too, Dad," I replied, standing and giving him a hug. I ran up to my room to call Renee. Curling up on the bed, I dialled her phone number.

"Hello?" my mother answered, out of breath.

"Hey, Mom, what's up?" I chuckled.

"Oh, not much, honey, Phil's just doing the baseball thing. How are you?"

"Well, I was calling to ask if I could move back to Phoenix," I asked hesitantly.

"Oh, hon, is it that bad? Of course you can, I'll fly back this weekend to stay with you," she sympathized.

"I can stay by myself..." I trailed off. I knew the battle was lost.

"No, no, honey. It's fine, Phil only has a few more weeks, he can handle it by himself. Plus, we can do some girly things, how 'bout that? Sound good?"

"Yeah, Mom. Sounds great. See you this weekend."

I hung up and lay back in the pillows.

* * *

**AN: Yup, she's leaving. So sad.**

**Wasn't the beginning BPOV so depressing? At the end I swear I almost cried, and I never cry. Ever. About anything at all.**

**Thanks to Lexy for sleeping and beta'ing afterwards. Ha. :D I luvers yah.**

**I think I might make one of those playlist things for this story, because I actually have one for it. :)**

**And then I did. Replace (dot) with a period to view. :D**

http://www(dot)playlist(dot)com/playlist/16637936395/standalone

**Review, please! **

**BN: Yes, very sad. Not only did I cry the FIRST and SECOND times that I have read this chapter, but the THIRD and FOURTH times as well. I am a sad, sad Lennixx now… (hey, I wonder if this is my first BN for this story…) **


	6. Hate Me

**Chapter Six**

**EPOV**

I reached Bella's window that night at the perfect time, just as she drifted off to sleep. I quickly slid the window open, not making a sound, and hopped into the room. Normally I'd just stay outside—I was wary of her new sleeping patterns—but I knew it would be fine for at least a few minutes, before her nightmares began. I couldn't stand being on the outside looking in when I'd had the front door to this house slammed in my face just hours before.

I walked up to her bed and sighed. She looked peaceful, but I knew that it was only in her sleep that she could be that way, and only for a few short minutes of that time. Sure enough, she whimpered in her sleep and tossed her head so that she was looking towards the wall.

Unable to stop myself, I lay my hand on her exposed cheek in an attempt to comfort her. She immediately stilled, but then began to move even more, then to speak.

"Edward... no, you can't... just forget... can't let them affect me...my life, not theirs..." she mumbled, tossing still. I tried to quiet her, but my hands just made her even more restless. I withdrew my hands ruefully, stepping away from the bed and frowning.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed her cell phone flashing on her bedside table and picked it up. It indicated that she had received an email, but I couldn't view the content on her phone. I made a mental note to buy her a phone with email access—if she ever forgave me, that was.

I opened the call history to see that she had been talking to Renee shortly before she'd fallen asleep. I was happy that she was communicating with her mother, but I frowned again when I noticed that the call wasn't as long as previous calls to her mother had been.

All of a sudden Bella let out a loud "No!" and flung her arm onto the bedside table, knocking her alarm clock off and onto my foot. I took that as my cue to leave and put her cell phone back in the place I had found it, climbing back out the window and taking special care to close it behind me.

As soon as I was settled onto my perch outside the window, I saw Bella get up out of her bed and pick up her alarm clock, setting it back in it's place. She glanced at her phone and must have noticed the email alert I had left open on it, because she headed straight over to where I knew her computer was. I took a moment to readjust my position so that I could see the screen.

Both Bella and I waited an obscenely long time for the computer to load—it was hard to tell which of us was the more impatient of the two, and another product was added to 'The List of Things to Buy Bella if She Ever Forgave Me.'

Finally Bella was able to access the email which we discovered was from Renee. There was no subject line, which intrigued me.

Bella clicked on it and I leaned in a bit to see better, though I didn't particularly need to. It was clear enough what it said, I just didn't want to believe it. I blinked once, then again.

Then again.

And again.

Then I lost my grip on the tree branches and fell, still managing to land nimbly on my feet.

I shook my head, dazed. My cell phone rang and I answered it on autopilot.

"Did that say what I thought it said?" Alice's voice came over the line.

She didn't need an answer.

"Oh God, no. She's going back to Phoenix."

**BPOV**

I stepped into the glaring light, blinking my eyes against it. I wished I'd thought to buy sunglasses beforehand.

"Bella!" Renee called, waving her hand to get my attention in the crowded Sky Harbour Airport.

"Hey, Mom!" I shouted back, weaving my way through the crowd. "It's good to see you again!" I feigned happiness, throwing my arms around her. It _was_ good to see her, I just wished it wasn't because I was avoiding people—people that loved me, nonetheless. It felt wrong to give the men even that slight victory, but staying would give them a larger one.

"I missed you too, sweetheart," Renee gushed. "Here, let me take that for you." She took my carry-on bag and I didn't protest, pretending to be engrossed in something on my cell phone.

The phone in my hand rang not two seconds after I'd turned it on, startling us both. Renee leaned over and looked at the caller ID.

"Ooh, Edward. A boyfriend? Why ever did you move back here if you've got an _Edward_ back in Forks?" she teased. "Go on, answer it."

"Uh, no," I avoided, hitting the ignore button. "I'll just call him back later. We need to catch up!"

That distracted her sufficiently.

"Yes, we do! Tell me, who's Edward?" she pressed as she began to lead me towards the baggage carousel. I cringed. _Thanks a lot, Edward. I never thought you were one who couldn't take a hint._

"He's no one special, just some boy I met at school." I brushed off the question again. "Oh, look, there's my luggage!" I jumped forward and grabbed my small suitcase off of the conveyor belt. We walked in silence to the vehicle, but I could just see the wheels in Renee's head turning as she crafted more questions to ask me.

We were all loaded up and my mother was about the start the engine when my cell phone rang again. I pulled it out and checked the ID. It was Edward again, so I quickly hit ignore and then turned my phone to vibrate, but not before my mother could see.

"He must be more than 'just some boy' if he called you twice," she speculated. "Did you tell him you were moving away?"

"Of course I did!" I lied through my teeth. "He's just very persistent."

"Alright then." Renee finally gave in.

We pulled up to the familiar house and unloaded. I dragged all my stuff to my room, then went out to the kitchen to decide what to do for supper with Renee. I knew we'd probably end up ordering in, but I didn't mind letting her attempt to cook if she wanted to. It was an entertaining process, Renee's cooking, one that I'd missed.

She didn't though, so we ordered Chinese. While we sat and waited for it my phone vibrated in my pocket. I slid it out to check, knowing it would be Edward. I was right.

I continued to make small talk with Renee until our food arrived, and then all through dinner as well. As soon as I was finished I excused myself and went to my bedroom.

I lay down on the bed and sighed. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I glanced at it for a second before pressing ignore and throwing it on the bedside table. It was, of course, Edward, yet again.

This time the phone rang almost immediately after and I didn't even bother to pick it up, instead just feeling for the power button and pressing down. I heard the resounding notes that signalled my phone turning off and was satisfied.

**EPOV**

"Don't you see why she can't hide away, Alice? She's not working it out herself, she's just running away and hiding," I reasoned.

Alice nodded slowly up at me from her position on the couch in the living room. "I can't believe I'm admitting this, but you're right, Edward. She's not handling this well."

I nodded with the satisfaction that she was finally on my side and sat down beside her.

I tried to call Bella again, but she didn't pick up. I growled in frustration and had to restrain myself from throwing the phone as hard as I could against the wall. I had waited until after the time on the email Renee had sent her detailing departure and arrival times of her flights, but she still was not answering.

"Let me try," Alice suggested.

I stared blankly up at her. "How would that help?"

Alice rolled her eyes, sliding her own cell phone out of her pocket. "Not on your phone, on mine, so that she at least sees it's not you."

We waited tensely while the phone rang before it was suddenly cut off by Bella's answering machine.

"It came too early," I commented as Alice snapped her phone shut without leaving a message.

"She shut her phone off," Alice said. "And she probably did it without looking at the caller ID, too."

"Call again and leave a message?" I suggested.

She dialled again and this time it went straight to voice mail. Alice left a message. "Hey, Bella, it's Alice. Just wondering if you were feeling well enough today to go shopping. Either way, call me back! Thanks!"

She snapped the phone shut and I raised my eyebrows at her.

"What?"

"Shopping?" I asked.

"I was under pressure, Edward, what did you expect?" Alice pouted.

I shook my head. "Just try to think of ways we can try and get her to come back, will you?"

"Sure thing, Edward. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Alice."

* * *

**AN: Okay, so, Bella's in Phoenix, but Alice is going to try and think of a way to bring her back. And we all know Alice is pretty gosh darn amazing, right? Right. **

**Just in case nobody saw the edited version of the last chapter, I did end up making a playlist for the story, which you can view here: http://www(dot)playlist(dot)com/playlist/16637936395/standalone if you replace the (dot) with a period.**

**Let me know your thoughts, please! :D**


	7. It Ends Tonight

**Chapter Seven**

**APOV**

I walked down the aisle of the grocery store pushing a cart ahead of me and picking out random items to throw in as I went. Normally I would pay more attention to the things that were going to grace our cupboards and then eventually be donated to charity, but right now all my brain power was focused on Bella. I grabbed a box of Raisin Bran and threw it into the cart, rounding the corner as I did so. A loud 'Oof!' came from behind the metal divider and I rushed around to see who had gotten in the way of my careless ways.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed to the doubled up boy. He straightened up, towering over me and smiled, wincing only a little.

"I'm fine. You're vicious with that shopping cart, though, better be careful," he joked, taking an elastic out of his pocket and wrapping it around his long black hair before picking up his grocery basket again. I could tell from his dark russet coloured skin that he was from the Quileute reservation on the coast. "I'm Jacob Black," he said, holding out the hand that wasn't holding the basket. "And I know that you're a Cullen."

"Alice," I said, shaking his hand. Something about his name was familiar... something to do with Bella? "So what brings you to Forks?" I asked, going back to my cart and pushing it down the aisle again. Jacob walked beside me.

"Oh, I was just bringing Charlie some fish fry. I was going to hang out with Bella, but she went back to Phoenix." He seemed a bit sad about that. "And since I needed to go grocery shopping, I figured I'd just get it done here."

"I knew I recognized your name! You're Bella's friend, the one who told her those Quileute legends," I exclaimed.

Jacob looked miffed. "Uh, yeah. That's me..."

Suddenly, something in my brain just clicked.

"Jacob..." I said, turning to him with a smile on my face that was meant to lure him into agreeing with me.

"Yeah?"

"What would you say to bringing Bella back? I mean, she won't listen to Edward and me, but maybe she'll listen to you, someone she's known since she was small?"

"Edward is her boyfriend?" Jacob asked, swallowing nervously.

I shrugged. "You could call it that. They love each other."

"Then why'd Bella leave?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, you'd have to ask her that."

"And Edward would never hurt Bella, right?" Jacob asked, still looking nervous.

"Never," I replied, probably more fiercely than I needed to.

"Alright," he decided. "I'll go."

**BPOV**

I never bothered turning my cell phone back on. I knew that if I did I would just be ravaged with voicemails and phone calls, neither of which I wanted anything to do with.

I went to school. It was the same as ever. None of the people that I had been associated with before even bothered talking to me now, which suited me fine. I sat in the corner of the cafeteria during lunch and spent all my classes in the back row, watching all the people try to be subtle in their stares. Did they think I was stupid? It's kind of obvious when your entire head is facing in the wrong direction.

I arrived home Friday night completely and totally exhausted, with the intention of skipping dinner and going straight to bed, though how much good that was going to do me, I had no idea. Probably none. I had on record one night where I had closed my eyes at 11:00 PM exactly only to be woken by a nightmare at 11:01.

Needless to say, that was not a good night.

But still, I didn't give up. _Sleep was attainable._ It was my mantra, and I stuck to it.

I threw my backpack onto the floor in the entryway and started to head for my bedroom only to be stopped in my tracks by the sound of Renee calling my name from the living room. Sighing, I turned and headed in that direction instead. Hopefully whatever she wanted wasn't going to take too long.

"Yeah, Mom? What's up?" I called as I walked into the living room.

I didn't need an answer, however, because standing in the middle of the room was Jacob Black, smiling at me. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Hey Bella!" Jacob said cheerfully. I studied his face and suddenly wondered if he knew what had happened to me... if Edward had discussed it with him, too.

"Hi, Jake," I mumbled. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit, I guess," he said, glancing at Renee. "Can we go to your room?"

"Um, sure." I led the way, not looking at Renee for affirmation. I knew she wouldn't care.

As soon as we were in my room with the door closed, I pointed to the bed. He sat and I began to pace.

"Edward sent you, didn't he?" I fumed.

"Well, um..."

"Don't lie to me, Jacob! He can't leave well enough alone, and he has to go around discussing my private business that he shouldn't know a thing about with everyone..."

"Whoa, Bella, what private business? Edward just misses you and wants you to come back. So do I."

"You mean he _didn't_ tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Jake asked, staring at me with such bewilderment I had to believe him. I sat down next to him and sighed, burying my head in my hands.

"Oh no..." I moaned.

"Bells?" he asked worriedly, attempting to pry my hands away from my face. I didn't let him move them. "Come on, Bella, tell me what's wrong. Please?" His voice cracked at the end and I looked up at him. His expression made tears come to my eyes and I leaned into him, putting my cheek on his shoulder.

"I don't know if I can," I mumbled.

"Try?"

I pulled back again and wiped my eyes, bringing my legs up onto the bed and hugging them to me. I took a deep breath, trying to build up the strength to finally admit what I had been hiding for so long. It was another loss for me, but I would do it, if only because of that expression. I let the breath out and took another one, trying to find the proper words. It was then that I realized that there really are no proper words to say something like this and sighed out, "I was raped," all in one breath.

Jacob leaned closer to me. "Sorry, what?"

"I was raped," I said, still quiet but in a much stronger voice.

Jacob now looked shocked. "By who? Was it Cullen? If that elf girl was lying to me..."

"No!" I shrieked, startling Jacob. "No, it wasn't him. It was some random men on the street. They won and I lost, and now I'm paying my dues."

Jacob's expression softened. "Bella... no."

"Yes. I'm just a poor, weak human, and Edward doesn't need me hanging around him and being a burden."

"Well, Edward's human, too," Jacob reasoned. I snorted, laughing half-heartedly. Edward wasn't human, but Jacob didn't know that. Jacob stared at me for a moment longer before opening to his mouth to speak again.

"Listen, Bella, he's a wreck without you. I went to their house to wait for my flight, and he just mopes around, lamenting the fact that he can't help you, and that nothing's right without you. He relates every little thing back to you, and his family... well, I think they just want the old Edward back. I would too. And Bella... I want the old you back, not this broken shell. You aren't fixing anything by hiding it. You're wrong about those men winning... by hiding it you're letting them win, but if you tell the world, and stand up to them, show them that you're stronger than they are, then you win. Don't try and tell me that you're a loser, Bella, because you're not, okay? You're not."

By the end of his tirade there were fresh tears streaming down my face and I was rocking back and forth in my little ball. "But Jake," I sobbed, "I'm hurting them all by being near them. I don't want to do that."

"Bella, you're hurting them by staying away," he pointed out. I ran that over in my mind. Somehow, it actually made sense, even though it was the polar opposite of what I had been thinking.

My tears ran dry again, and I wiped my face with my sweater sleeves. Jacob looked at me for another moment before finally asking, "Will you come back?"

I was quiet, thinking about it. Going back would mean facing Edward again after I had slammed the door in his face, which wasn't an exciting prospect. Going back could also mean having to tell certain people what had happened, depending on what Jacob had meant.

"What does that entail?" I asked, making sure there weren't any strings attached.

Jacob smiled. "Just giving everything a second chance."

I nodded. "I can do that."

* * *

**AN: I told you Alice was smart. You all seemed to agree whole-heartedly, though. That was good. :D**

**Back to Forks. Whoo hoo. Check out the playlist for this chapter's song if that kind of thing interests you.**

**Thanks to Lex and J. I decided that I have two betas now... I'm just that cool. Not that lots of authors don't have two betas, because lots of authors do. Whatever. Xd**

**Please review and tell me what you thought! :D**


	8. The Scientist

****

Chapter Eight

**EPOV**

Alice was a genius. I had never doubted it. I'd never had a reason to, and I had been proven right again.

And that Jacob kid—he wasn't so bad either. After all, he was the one who had actually convinced Bella to give everyone a second chance by coming back to Forks.

But now, it was only me, facing the music. I hadn't been wrong about Bella, but I had taken the wrong actions, and I was going to get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness if I needed to.

I took one of those deep, unnecessary breaths and knocked on Bella's front door right over the dent my nose had made. A few moments passed and then the door swung open.

Bella stood there, half hidden behind the door, dark circles under her eyes. There was something missing in her expression, but I couldn't put my finger on it. She looked horrible, even worse than before she'd left to go to Phoenix. This had to stop soon. I clenched a fist; I was going to do this on her terms, and her terms only.

"Hello, Bella," I said.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Jacob told me you were back in town," I continued, "and I figured I'd come see you." She nodded curtly, looking at the floor.

"Did you want anything in particular?" she asked, glancing up at me and then back down again. That one little move made my heart break all over again, only this time it broke into even tinier pieces than it had been in before, like someone had take a baseball bat to a windshield and was still hitting it, even though it was already broken.

"Bella... will you come with me?" I asked, holding out my hand. I hadn't been planning on taking her anywhere, but now I felt like it would be a good idea. She stared at my hand, and for a moment I was afraid she wouldn't take it. But slowly, very slowly, she slid her hand into mine and held on. I tightened my grip on her and pulled her out to the car. She got in the passenger side and I began to back out of the driveway. When I hit the highway I began to speed, going much faster than I usually did when I had Bella with me. I glanced over at her. She had her eyes closed and I could see her lips moving, though I knew there was no sound coming out.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"I'm fine," she replied, her voice quiet and her eyes still closed.

I parked the Volvo where the road ended and got out. Bella followed suit.

"You don't mind hiking, right?"

"No," Bella assured me quietly, and we set off through the forest. It was a silent trip, the only noise being the animals around us and Bella's feet moving through the grasses.

We finally reached our destination and I pointed it out to Bella: my meadow. She looked relieved that the hiking was over and I felt guilty for having made her walk this far when she was so short on sleep.

Bella sat down in the middle of the clearing and plucked a piece of grass from the ground. She started to twirl it between her fingers and I stared at it, mesmerized. Now that I had her here, I had no idea what to say. Finally she sighed and threw the piece of grass on the ground again. I blinked and looked at her face. Her expression was resigned as she said, "Alright, Edward. Stop staring and tell me why you brought me here."

I sighed and moved a couple steps closer to her before sitting down. "I don't know, Bella. I just had to apologize, I suppose."

Bella raised an eyebrow and laughed shortly. "You had to bring me here to say sorry?"

I cringed. "Well, it's so much more than just _sorry_. It's an apology for trying to force you to face things, and an apology for discussing you behind your back. It's an apology for knowing things I shouldn't have known, and an apology for trying to fix you when I didn't even know what was wrong." I watched Bella in anticipation of her reaction—was she going to accept my apology or never speak to me again?

It surprised me completely when Bella's expression turned angry and she began to speak. "No, Edward, I'm sorry. I'm not worthy of you or your family's thoughts, anyways. I should have been honoured to have you talk about me." Her voice cracked and she broke down, tucking her knees up to her chin, tears running down her face unchecked. "Shit, I'm crying again. I don't want to cry anymore. I shouldn't have blamed you for trying to fix me, looks like I need it, doesn't it?" I reached out to her, smoothing her hair back and then taking her gently into my arms when she didn't flinch away. "Why do they control my life?" she mumbled into my shoulder.

"Who are _they_?" I asked, though I had an idea. I wanted her to admit it out loud, to me. It would be the hardest for her, since she had been trying the hardest to hide it away from me.

Bella sniffled again and then leaned away. "Screw it, Jake was right. I need to tell... to tell someone. I need to get help. I'm tired of losing sleep, it was stupid of me to assume the nightmares would go away on their own," she said, almost to herself. I nodded along with her, trying to be as supportive as I could be.

"_They_ are the ones who... who..." Bella's face screwed up in pain as she tried to choke the word out and I felt that cruel person get their baseball bat out again and start to pummel my heart. _You can do it, Bella... just one word..._

"They raped me," she whispered, then curled into a ball again, hiding her face away.

I'd thought hearing her say it wasn't going to make a difference—I'd already known what had happened, hadn't I? But somehow, hearing that come from Bella's mouth and seeing her so broken had me speechless with anger. Who did those men think they were, hurting my Bella? Who else had they hurt? Who else were they going to hurt in the future? My hands clenched into fists just thinking of them.

My thoughts turned to how I'd treated Bella when I'd first suspected something was wrong and I just got even angrier—at myself. I had approached it from a psychological standard, the way I would have if I had never met Bella before in my life, adding up all the little clues and trying to make a full picture out of it, rather than just waiting for Bella to come to terms with it and tell me on her own. By trying to pry it out of her I'd forced her farther into her hiding place—and I was only realizing this now, though my siblings had been trying to tell me the entire time.

Bella's voice brought me out my thoughts. "I knew it. You can't even talk to me now because I'm so weak," she huffed, getting up and starting to walk away.

I jumped up and got in her way, holding my hands up in front of me. "_No_, Bella, you can never think that. You are not weak; you're one of the strongest people I know. You were hurt immensely, and you handled that the way you thought was best, even though the people around you were determined to stop you. I admire that, and I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

Bella stared up at me for a moment before slowly putting her arms around my waist and leaning her head into my chest. I hesitantly lay my own arms over her back, returning the hug.

"Thank you, Edward," she breathed.

"You're welcome, Bella."

Suddenly I felt a drop of water fall onto my head. I looked up just as the clouds unleashed the full force of the Forks rain. Bella looked up as well and the rain mixed into her tears, washing away the tracks that marked where they had fallen. She looked at me and smiled. I looked back at her in wonder, my own smile spreading across my face. I hadn't seen Bella truly smile since before the Port Angeles incident—that's what had been missing from her expression earlier, the fire that she usually had in her had been put out.

It was then that I realized that there were three things I was absolutely positive about. First, Bella had been raped. Second, I wanted to kill the men that had hurt her. And third, I was going to protect her with everything I had in me—no matter what it took.

* * *

**AN: Well, there's the end of the story! I'm kind of sad to see it go... it was challenging, but a challenge is always a good thing.**

**Thank you to my betas, Lex and J. Without you, this story would a) be horrible, b) not be published, and c) suck. You're both epic. *hugs***

**Also thanks to Skydala for posting this idea for people to use! I hope someone else writes something so that I can read it... *hint, hint***

**And thanks to everyone who reviewed! Let me know what you thought of the last chapter—it was definitely the hardest one to write. :)**


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